GADIDE. 



Haddocks swim in immense shoals, but are uncertain as 

 to their appearance in places that had been formerly visited, 

 and they are prone to change their ground after having 

 arrived. The enormous consumption of food even in a short 

 space of time, when the number of mouths is considered, 

 may be one powerful reason for seeking new localities. 

 They arc probably more abundant along our eastern coast, 

 from Yarmouth to the Tyne, than elsewhere. There they 

 are caught with long-lines and hand-lines, and the most 

 attractive baits are pieces cut from the Herring or Sand- 

 launce. Along our southern shore, where the trawl-net is 

 constantly in use, the Haddock, feeding near the bottom, is 

 frequently taken in the trawl. The most common weight 

 of a Haddock is from two to four pounds. I have seen 

 Haddocks of ten pounds 1 weight in the London market ; 

 the Brixham trawling-ground has produced Haddock of 

 fourteen pounds ; but the largest seen for some years past 

 weighed sixteen pounds, and was taken in Dublin Bay. 



Haddocks spawn in February and March, and the young- 

 are six inches long by the beginning of September. When 

 kept in confinement in the salt-water preserve referred to in 

 the account of the Common Cod, the Haddocks were found 

 to be the tamest fishes in the pond, and took limpets one 

 after another from the hand. Their food is small fish, Crus- 

 tacea, and almost any of the inferior animals of the deep, even 

 the spiny Aphrodita. They are in the best condition for the 

 table during the last three months of the year. 



The French fishermen call the Haddock, Hadot, whence 

 probably our name was derived. 



Pennant says, " Our countryman Turner suggested that 

 the Haddock was the Onos or Asinus of the ancients. Dif- 

 ferent reasons have been assigned for giving this name to the 

 species, some imagining it to be from the colour of the fish, 

 others because it used to be carried on the backs of asses to 



